1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is generally directed to a device management apparatus and device management system for managing one or more devices connected via a data transmission channel, and in particular to a technology for integrally managing various types of information by connecting information input in advance to device information.
2. Description of the Related Art
Device management systems have been known which acquire device information from each one or more devices connected to a network or the like and manage the devices based on the acquired information.
For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a device management server which acquires device identification information, such as an IP address (Internet Protocol address) or a MAC address (Media Access Control address), from each device, then automatically detects a change in a device, such as an addition or deletion of the device, in a system which includes a large number of devices, and manages the physical position of each device.
In addition, for example, Patent Document 2 discloses a network device management apparatus capable of setting administrator information and the like in addition to the device information.
Thus, in recent years, there has been a demand for a device management system capable of not only managing device information acquired from each device but also integrally managing information by connecting the device information to various types of information (for example, information that cannot be acquired from a device, such as “administrator information” and “asset management information”) handled in a user environment.
[Patent Document 1] Japanese Laid-open Patent Application Publication No. 2005-151107
[Patent Document 2] Japanese Laid-open Patent Application Publication No. 2004-54657
However, according to conventional information management methods, the information connection between various types of information handled in a user environment and information of each device (hereinafter referred to as “device information”) can be made only after the device is searched for and registered by a device management apparatus (i.e., only after the installation of the device). In the case, for example, when a large number of devices are installed in the user environment, the devices are installed in stages, and the administrator has to manually perform information connection in each stage via the device management apparatus. The information connection is a burdensome operation for the administrator. In addition, the manual information connection takes time and a time lag until registry management information becomes the latest by the connection operation is likely to occur, which may prevent quick information management. Furthermore, accurate information management may not be achieved due to incorrect information connection.
For these reasons, there is a demand for a mechanism of dynamically connecting information input preliminarily (i.e., before the installation of a device) to device information at the time of the installation of the device in a user environment so as to reduce the workload of the administrator.